Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2000 Page: 1 of 16
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Vol. 151, No. 24 - 16 Pages
Thursday, August 3, 2000
Rusk, Texas 75785
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TDCJ to meet
with 2 state
legislators
| Aug. 24 meeting with
Staples, Haggerty set
State Representative and Senate Dis-
trict 3 candidate Todd Staples announced
that Chairman of the Texas House Com-
mittee on Corrections, Pat Haggerty (R-
El Paso), will join Staples to meet with
local TDCJ employees in Anderson and
Cherokee Counties.
A scheduling conflict prevented Staples
from accepting an invitation from TDCJ
employees to meet with them Aug. 3, but
he has committed to another meeting with
them Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. in the Rusk Civic
Center.
Staples also announced he will attend a
candidate forum to discuss TDCJ issues
and concerns on Sept. 11 at the Palestine
Civic Center.
Staples, Vice Chairman of the House
Corrections Committee, said he invited
Haggerty to discuss the need to bring
state prison guard pay to the national
average and other pressing TDCJ em-
ployee concerns on Thursday, August 24th.
Please see TDCJ, page 16
Alto police chief
confirms DoD
equipment sent
to 3 states
■ Confusion stems
from paperwork
misunderstanding
Surplus military equipment allegedly
received by the Alto Police Department
has been located in three states, Jerry
Murphy told the Cherokeean/Herald last
week.
The missing equipment was never re-
ally lost, though, said Chief Murphy. The
entire controversy stemmed from mis-
communication and a misunderstanding
of how to read the paperwork from the
Department of Defense.
A simple stanjp on the paperwork which
said "received" on Alto's application only
meant that DoD had received the paper-
work for processing. It never should have
been construed to mean that Alto received
the requested items.
A Tyler newspaper report last week
indicated that a $32,000 truck, a laptop
computer and a TV/VCR combination ear-
marked for Alto couldn't be found.
'The pickup truck was sent to the Mis-
sissippi Forestry Commission, and John
Wallace is the director and the one who
actually received that pickup truck that
was on Alto's paperwork," said Chief
Murphy.
The laptop computer was sent to a fed-
eral correctional facility in Marianna, Fla.,
and a Navy weapons depot in Crane, ind.,
took possession of the TV/VCR unit.
Apparently several agencies, including
the Alto PD, submitted applications for
the same items,%and DoD prioritized the
applicants actual needs.
"These are the new facts and the actual
truth of the missing items," Chief Murphy
said.
Regarding allegations that. Chief
Murphy inflated the size of the Alto PD on
the paperwork, he said that he answered
each question truthfully and accurately.
"On none of the DoD paperwork did we
claim *14 employees because the paper-
work never asked for the total size of the
police force," he said. The Alto police force
consists of four paid officers and six re-
serve volunteers.
Chief Murphy said questions such as
"how many officers perform drug interdic-
tion?" and "how many officers serve on the
tactical team?" could be the source of the
misunderstanding.
"On a small force like ours, every officer
performs each of these duties," he said.
A cloud of controversy settled over the
Alto Police Department this summer amid
allegations of misappropriated surplus
equipment from the Department of De-
fense.
Alto Mayor Sandy Wallace suspended
PIMM see ALTO PD. page 16
Rusk fails to get state funding for new school
Rusk will not be among the indepen-
dent school districts receiving a share
of $50 million in state funds to help
build new classrooms and other instruc-
tional facilities, Texas Education
Agency officials have announced.
Eighty-three school districts out of
more than 300 applicants were funded.
"We are disappointed that the money
ran out before they got to us. Rusk was
number 110 on the list and schools
were funded up to the 83," Rusk ISD
Superintendent Tony Murray said.
"We have everything done that we
would have to do to apply next year.
That is if the legislature makes the
money available," he said. "We really
expect some allocated money next year,"
Mr. Murray said.
"Right now, we have to think about
what we are going to do about the space
problem in the district," he continued.
The board will look at the problem and
will discuss the matter at the next board
meeting. Jacksonville and Bullard both
applied and were denied funding, Mr.
Murray said.
The funds are being distributed to the
districts under the state's instructional
facilities allotment, which provides state
funds to help school districts pay off bonds
issued for the construction of new class-
rooms or improvements to classrooms and
other instructional facilities. Funds re-
ceived under this program also may be
used to help make payments under lease-
purchase agreements for those kinds of
facilities.
School districts were required to apply
for the funds, and 308 applications were
received. Applications were prioritized by
property wealth per student in average
daily attendance, with adjustments for
rapid enrollment growth, lack of pre-ex-
isting debt and rejection of previous appli-
cations for instructional facilities allot-
ment funds. Agency officials also reviewed
each application to determine if the
projects for which school districts sought
funds were eligible. In establishing the
program, state lawmakers limited use of
the facilities allotment to help pay off
bonds or lease-purchase agreements
for the purchase of real property, im-
provements to real property or neces-
sary fixtures.
With the award of this $50 million,
the $396 million appropriated by the
Legislature for the facilities allotment
for the 2000-2001 biennium has been
committed. Future awards can only be
made if lawmakers appropriate addi-
tional funding during the next legisla-
tive session, For the 2000-2001 school
year, 311 school districts will receive a
total of $223 million in state funds for
facilities.
Recent county fires trigger year's 1st burn ban
■ Statewide, 104
counties issue bans
Cherokee County Commissioner Kevin
Pierce, Precinct 2, who serves as county
judge pro-tem, issued a burn ban for the
county Monday afternoon. Judge Harry
Tilley is on vacation so Commissioner
Pierce acted in his place.
Commissioner Pierce explained that the
county had a Keetch-Bryam Drought In-
dex of between 600 and 700. Anything
above 600 is a high hazard for wild fires.
When a county reaches the 600 KBDI the
forest service recommends a burn ban,
Commissioner Pierce said. The recom-
mendation was made to protect lives and
property in the county.
The forest service said that forest fires
are worst than they were at this time last
year.
Mahlon Hammetter, fire prevention
specialist with the Texas Forest Service,
said, "Fires have started earlier this year.
July was a much drier month this year
than in 1999. A lot of the areas are below
normal in the amount of rainfall. One
area may get a shower and down the road
there is no rain. But, even if an area gets
two inches it doesn't take long for the
vegetation to dry up ."
He noted that last yr«ar, the drought
See related fire stories,
P9- 6 .
began in August and continued until No-
vember.
On July 31, there were 104 counties in
Please see BURN BAN, page 16
New immunization requirements begin Aug. 1
v.1
I
Students need immunization shots
>M§w%.Whaol begins, and a new law
effective Aug. 1 requires that some
children must receive additional im-
munizations.
The Cherokee County Health Depart-
ments in Rusk and Jacksonville are
staying open later one day a week to
allow parents more time to get their
children's immunizations.
"Every year we stay open later due to
school," said Pam Davis, RN at the
Rusk Health Department.
See complete
immunization chart,
jjage
10
It's shot tlms for ths Crump children. Aim, 11, a sixth grader It the first to got his shots from Nurse Psm Davis at ths
Cherokee County Health Dspsrtment His brother, Andrew, seven, s second grader and sister, Anna, five, a
kindergarten student, are at left.
The Rusk Health Department will be
open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.
Monday through Friday and on
Wednesday they will stay open until
6:30 p.m.
The Jacksonville Health Department
will be administering immunizations
from 1 to 6 p.m. on Tuesdays. Their
operating hours are 8 a.m. to noon and
1 to 5 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and
Thursday. Tuesdays the Jacksonville
clinic stays open until 6p.m. and closes
at 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Students need to bring their shot
records if they have not had shots at
Please see IMMUNIZATIONS, page 10
State sets sales tax
'holiday' this weekend
By Tonya Dauqherty
Cherokeean/Herald writer
■ Law now includes
items placed in lay-away
Area retailers are hoping that Christ-
mas arrives in August this year with the
state sales tax holiday slated Aug. 4-6.
For the second year in a row, no state or
local sales tax will be charged on most
clothing and footwear priced under $100.
The sales tax holiday will begin at 12:01
a.m. on Friday, Aug. 4 and ends at mid-
night on Sunday, Aug. 6. The tax break is
expected to save Texas consumers mil-
lions in state and local sales,taxes.
The county's largest retailer, Wal-Mart,
expects a very good weekend. Co-man-
ager Mike Sly told the Cherokeean/Her-
ald, "We are expecting an extremely busy
weekend."
The savings for consumers will be re-
flected in lowered sales tax rebates to
cities and counties, although the impact
will not be felt until November.
A local retailer said, "We would like to
say we expect a whole lot. Last year we
had a couple of good days, but we never
know what to expect. People don't sup-
port Rusk like they should. Most people
go out of town to shop no matter what they
find in Rusk."
See complete list of
taxable, non-taxable
merchandise, page 10
"The timing of the Sales Tax Holiday is
intended to help parents outfit their chil-
dren for the new school year. However,
the tax break is not limited to children's
Please see TAX HOLIDAY, page 10
The East Texas Poll
Will you take advantage of the
"tax holiday" Aug. 4-6?
Now in its second year, the "sales
tax holiday" appears to be gaining
in popularity and support among
East Texas consumers.
The tax amnesty period was ap-
proved by the Texas Legislature to
help parents buy back-to-school
items for their children, but any-
one can take advantage of the holi-
day. During the three-day period,
certain items will be exempt from
state sales tax.
The East Texas Poll, sponsored
by the Cherokeean/Herald and CD
97.7 FM, queried 100 potential
shoppers.
"There were some people who
knew nothing about the tax am-
nesty day," said Tara Crosby, who
conducted the poll. "There were
aevsral grandparents who are plan-
ning on purchasing back-to-school
Not sure
-Chmrok—n/Hwald graphic
items for their grandchildren.
In the poll, SI percent said they
plan to taJte advantage of the sales
tax holiday. Thirty-three percent
said they would not make a spe-
cial effort to make purchases over
the three-day amnesty. Another
16 percent said they were unde-
cided.
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Whitehead, Marie. Cherokeean/Herald (Rusk, Tex.), Vol. 151, No. 24, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 3, 2000, newspaper, August 3, 2000; Rusk, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth168655/m1/1/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Singletary Memorial Library.